David Guetta at Electric Zoo 2011, Day 2, September 3, 2011 (review)

In our preview of his upcoming film, Nothing But The Beat, we told you that David Guetta seemed like a genuinely happy guy with a serious passion for pleasing people’s ears with music. After seeing him at Electric Zoo this weekend, we can say with certainty that is the case. David’s headlining set may have taken place at 7:30PM, but he completely shut down Randall’s Island with a combination of new tracks and old that proved to be the perfect set for the NYC crowd. Care to hear about the details? Head past the break for more.

The stage crew completed a set change in record time, and before we knew what was going on, David was positioned behind an LED DJ booth with accompanying LED screen behind him. “Nothing But The Beat” signage flashed across the monstrous stage as he addressed the crowd with his French accent and said “What the fuck happened to New York? Last time I was here two years ago, Electric Zoo was a little festival.” Before he could finish his sentiment, the opening bars for “Gettin’ Over You” appeared along with relevant boombox motion graphics. This would prove to be the first of many “ohh” moments of David’s set — the guy has made so many hits and had his hand in so many productions it really is remarkable.

After the Fergie-fied track, David played “Little Bad Girl,” before venturing into AN21 and Max Vangeli territory with “The Island.” He would go on to play a nice mixture of other artists’ tracks along with his own, much to our pleasure and the crowd’s. We actually caught him raging in the photo pit at Skrillex’s set in the Hilltop Arena earlier in the day (see above), and sure enough he dropped “Cinema,” before playing some more new material from NBTB. There was a creative bootleg of Afrojack’s “Doing It Right” with the “One Love” acapella from Estelle, before abruptly switching it up to “Where Them Girls At.” As Flo Rida’s vocals petered out, David once again took to the mic where he announced that this week was “very special,” due to the release of his new album, and he proceeded to drop “Lunar,” which is probably this DA editor’s favorite track of the moment. (Editor’s Note: Broadcast recordings of the set start with “Lunar,” but he most definitely did not open with it.)

David Guetta & Afrojack – Lunar (Original Mix)

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The bootlegs didn’t stop though, as he played “Turn Up The Bass” with “Aerodynamic” and “When Love Takes Over,” which of course had everyone singing along. As if that wasn’t enough, David went on into a sequence of tracks that we heard quite a bit of last year, with “Sexy Bitch,” and the FMIF remix of “Memories.” With his innocent French accent, he asked everyone to help him “remember this as one of his best memories,” and take out their phones and “let me see those lights of New York City.” It was one of the most memorable moments of the entire weekend, and his sheer happiness at the sea of cellphone screens was refreshing and upbeat. In his own words — “You are beautiful! … Oh shit this is so good that I’m not gonna forget this… seriously!”

David Guetta & Kid Cudi – Memories (David Guetta’s FMIF Remix)

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He went on to close out the set with the obligatory Avicii track, “Levels,” and “Without You,” his new collaboration with Usher from NBTB. It was an interesting way to end in our opinion, but it certainly didn’t take away from the awesome blend of new and old we had heard for the preceding 90 minutes. The thing about David Guetta is that not only is he good at making music, it’s that he’s so good at making so many kinds of music. The guy puts out nothing but hits, and as his set went on we became more and more aware of the situation. It was an amazing way to spend the evening, and if you want our opinion, see David Guetta whenever you possibly can. Now all we need is a release date for the NBTB film.

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